Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to products made or derived from tobacco, or that otherwise incorporate tobacco, and are intended for human consumption and, more particularly, to components and configurations of segmented-type smoking articles.
Disclosure of Related Art
Popular smoking articles, such as cigarettes, have a substantially cylindrical rod-shaped structure and include a charge, roll or column of smokable material, such as shredded tobacco (e.g., in cut filler form), surrounded by a paper wrapper, thereby forming a so-called “smokable rod”, “tobacco rod” or “cigarette rod.” Normally, a cigarette has a cylindrical filter element aligned in an end-to-end relationship with the tobacco rod. Preferably, a filter element comprises plasticized cellulose acetate tow circumscribed by a paper material known as “plug wrap.” Preferably, the filter element is attached to one end of the tobacco rod using a circumscribing wrapping material known as “tipping paper.” It also has become desirable to perforate the tipping material and plug wrap, in order to provide dilution of drawn mainstream smoke with ambient air. Descriptions of cigarettes and the various components thereof are set forth in Tobacco Production, Chemistry and Technology, Davis et al. (Eds.) (1999); which is incorporated herein by reference. A traditional type of cigarettes is employed by a smoker by lighting one end thereof and burning the tobacco rod. The smoker then receives mainstream smoke into his/her mouth by drawing on the opposite end (e.g., the filter end or mouth end) of the cigarette. Through the years, efforts have been made to improve upon the components, construction and performance of smoking articles. See, for example, the background art discussed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,503,330 and 7,753,056, both to Borschke et al.; which are incorporated herein by reference.
Certain types of cigarettes that employ carbonaceous fuel elements have been commercially marketed under the brand names “Premier” and “Eclipse” by R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. See, for example, those types of cigarettes described in Chemical and Biological Studies on New Cigarette Prototypes that Heat Instead of Burn Tobacco, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Monograph (1988) and Inhalation Toxicology, 12:5, p. 1-58 (2000). Additionally, a similar type of cigarette recently has been marketed in Japan by Japan Tobacco Inc. under the brand name “Steam Hot One.” Furthermore, various types of smoking products incorporating carbonaceous fuel elements for heat generation and aerosol formation recently have been set forth in the patent literature. See, for example, the types of smoking products proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,836,897 to Borschke et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 8,469,035 to Banerjee et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 8,464,726 to Sebastian et al.; US Pat. Pub. Nos. 2012/0042885 to Stone et al.; 2013/0019888 to Tsuruizumi et al; 2013/0133675 to Shinozaki et al. and 2013/0146075 to Poget et al.; PCT WO Nos. 2012/0164077 to Gladden et al.; 2013/098380 to Raether et al.; 2013/098405 to Zuber et al.; 2013/098410 to Zuber et al.; 2013/104914 to Woodcock; 2013/120849 to Roudier et al.; 2013/120854 to Mironov; EP 1808087 to Baba et al. and EP 2550879 to Tsuruizumi et al.; which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. A historical perspective of technology related to various types of smoking products incorporating carbonaceous fuel elements for heat generation and aerosol formation may be found, for example, in the Background of US Pat. Pub. No. 2007/0215167 to Llewellyn Crooks et al., which is also incorporated herein by reference.
It would be highly desirable to provide smoking articles that demonstrate the ability to provide to a smoker many of the benefits and advantages of conventional cigarette smoking, without delivering considerable quantities of incomplete combustion and pyrolysis products. In conjunction with such desirable characteristics, it would also be desirable for a direct ignition smoking article to be readily ignited, and to remain ignited, while being used by the smoker.